Coming into Friday’s season opener against against a Brownwood team that had just rushed for almost 300 years in its previous game, first-year Wylie head coach Clay Martin knew that controlling the line of scrimmage would be vital to his team’s hopes of starting 1-0.

But even he had to be surprised by just how thoroughly the Bulldogs accomplished that mission in their 28-7 victory at Gordon Wood Stadium.

Led by a strong effort from its defensive line, WHS limited Brownwood to just 188 yards of total offense, including just 38 yards on the ground, in a dominating performance.

It was quite a start for a front that returned just one starter from last year’s 2-8 squad.

Few positions in sports are as important as an offensive line is to a football team.

If you can control the line of scrimmage, everything else gets easier. And if you can’t, well, the opposite is true.

In recent years, the Wylie football program has experienced both of these extremes. In 2016, a strong offensive line unit led by current Abilene Christian University senior Kade Parmelly helped the Bulldogs to a 12-1 record and their fourth state championship game appearance in school history. Just two years later, though, in WHS’ first year as a Class 5A program, struggles up front contributed in large part to a rough 0-10 campaign — a trend that continued last season as the ‘Dogs struggled to a 2-8 record.

Taking over for his longtime boss Hugh Sandifer, who retired in January after 41 years at Wylie, first-year WHS head coach Clay Martin is determined to get that turned back around. And with a healthy O-line group that features two returning starters and good crop of junior varsity call-ups, he feels the pieces are in place to accomplish that.